The expected growth in unhusked rice output should be sufficient for Indonesia to meet rice demand without resorting to imports this year, Agriculture Minister Bungaran Saragih said.
Saragih said the government expects the production of unhusked rice this year to reach 53.3 mln tons from 51.8 mln last year.
He said that as production rises, rice imports declined to 1.6 mln tons last year from around 6 mln in 1998.
"This year we hope there will be no imports," Saragih told reporters.
He said the government will however allow rice imports of up to 5 pct of national production capacity in line with rules of the World Trade Organization. Indonesia imports rice mainly from Vietnam and Thailand.
He said that last year's unhusked rice output of 51.8 mln tons marks a 0.7 pct increase from the previous year despite a prolonged dry season.
"For 2004, according to experts' forecasts, the weather and climate should be better than in 2003," Saragih said.